RX-104FF Penelope Gundam

In April of UC 0105, with the Mafty organization waging a campaign of political assassination in Australia and Oceania, a new commander takes charge of the Federation’s anti-Mafty taskforce. Colonel Kenneth Sleg, formerly assigned to weapons research and development, reorganizes the taskforce into the "Circe Unit." The Circe Unit’s backbone is one of the products of Kenneth’s own research: The Penelope, a huge mobile suit equipped with a Minovsky craft system for high-speed atmospheric flight. Co-developed by Anaheim Electronics, the Penelope is functionally almost identical to Mafty's Xi Gundam, a coincidence which comes as a shock to both sides in the conflict.

Like the Xi Gundam, the Penelope is armed with a beam rifle and racks of psycommu-guided funnel missiles. Its forearm shields house built-in beam sabers for close combat, and the long boom that juts out over its head contains a set of vulcan guns. The Penelope can reconfigure itself into a dragon-like high-speed flight mode, in which the mono-eye housed in its elongated chest armor becomes its primary sensor. While the Penelope itself is an equal match for the Xi Gundam, the recklessness and inexperience of its test pilot, artificial newtype Rein Eim, put it at a slight disadvantage in actual combat.